Typically, in order to analyze the performance of an electronic device or an antenna, an electromagnetic field simulator is used that employs a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method to perform electromagnetic field computation intended for communication waves.
The FDTD method is a numerical electromagnetic analysis method expanded to be applicable for cases including the case of time variation in a finite-difference beam-propagation method (FD-BPM). Moreover, the FDTD method is an analysis method that includes differentiation of Maxwell's equations (Faraday's law of induction and Ampere's law), arrangement on a mesh known as a Yee grid, alternate calculation of magnetic and electric fields in time and space, and determination of the electric and magnetic fields.
In recent years, there has been an active implementation of near-field measurement devices for the purpose of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) provision or antenna radiation pattern measurement in electronic devices. As illustrated in FIG. 13, a near-field measurement device is a measurement device including system software (in a personal computer: PC), a spectrum analyzer, and a measuring instrument. Thus, FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a near-field measurement device.
The measuring instrument obtains, with a magnetic field probe, the magnetic field (voltage) generated by the supply of an electrical current to a substrate (equipment under test: EUT) and outputs the obtained magnetic field to the spectrum analyzer. Then, the spectrum analyzer displays, on a screen, the data received from the measuring instrument in the form of a two-dimensional graph having frequency as the horizontal axis and electric power of voltage as the vertical axis. The PC is able to control the position of the magnetic field probe with the use of measuring software, to obtain the magnetic field strength distribution on the basis of the information displayed by the spectrum analyzer or the information obtained by the measuring instrument, and to identify a noise source in a frequency range by performing detail analysis.
Recently, there has been disclosure of a near-field measurement device, as illustrated in FIG. 14, that is able to perform amplitude and phase measurement with the use of an optical magnetic field probe and a network analyzer. Thus, FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a configuration of a near-field measurement device that is able to perform amplitude and phase measurement.
Such measurement devices are disclosed in for example Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2001-318961 and No. 2002-19547.
Meanwhile, with the recent advances in computing devices, there is a need to enable analysis of electronic devices in their entirety. For that purpose, it is necessary to perform accurate modeling of electronic devices in the order of tens of μm. However, in the case of implementing the conventional technology as mentioned above, an increase in the number of discretized components leads to an enormous expansion of the analysis scale. Hence, the analysis becomes computationally expensive.